Call me a happy man. I just stumbled upon gluten free Teriyaki sauce while visiting a new Korean supermarket. It is made by Kikkoman which is one of the most popular makers of Soy and Teriyaki sauce.

In all honesty when going to a gluten free life style, not being able to eat chicken Teriyaki was a big deal. I didn’t used to just put it in chicken but would put it on plain white rice as well. I am pretty certain that the taste will be comparable to the regular sauce since I have their Soy sauce and it tastes the same.

So if you are feeling like some stir fry Teriyaki style then I would check out your local Asian market to see if they carry it.

Kellogg’s has recently released gluten free Rice Krispies. This is great since I haven’t had Rice Krispies since going gluten free.

On the box Kellogg’s states that they use brown rice since brown rice is naturally gluten free. Either way we all know that brown rice is generally better for you then white rice so that makes these Krispies even more attractive.

The best thing about the new box of Rice Krispies is that they include the recipe to make gluten free Rice Krispies treats. That is something else that I haven’t has in a long time. This is another snack I can stuff into my backpack for a quick bite.

It is nice to see more and more companies jumping on the gluten free bandwagon.

My local Walmart started to carry gluten free Bisquick so I decided to give it a try this morning and make some pancakes. I have one word to sum them up -

Yummy!

I was actually surprised at how good they were. Granted it has been 9-12 months since I have had pancakes at minimum but from what I remember these were pretty close. The biggest difference in taste to me was that these pancakes tasted more like they were all natural and not processed type pancakes (McDonalds vs homemade). They weren’t super fluffy but weren’t flat either. I liked them!

I have to say the Bisquick gluten free pancakes blew away the gluten free frozen waffles I tried the other day. They tasted like cardboard .

If I get brave I will try the waffle recipe on the back of the package.

Additional note – my wife made more pancakes substituting the milk in the recipe with bananas to make gluten and casein free pancakes for my son. He loved them and ate 2 without stopping.

I will have to stock up to make sure we have plenty on gluten free Bisquick in the house!

While going to Sprouts the other day in Round Rock I noticed a candy store in the same complex that I had to check out. I had been craving chocolate covered almonds from See’s Candies in California but unfortunately See’s isn’t in Texas. The place I found was Lammes Candies.

The store looked similar to a See’s Candies store and sure enough they had chocolate covered almonds. I purchased some for my wife and I and also sampled a toffee nut bar and left.

Half way through the toffee nut bar I thought “I wonder if this has gluten in it?”. I had not thought of it before eating because I was so excited about my discovery. I went back inside the store and asked the cashier and she said that they were working on a list of items that were gluten free but did not have it available yet.

When I got home I decided to check out their Facebook page that the cashier had also told me about. I posted on their page inquiring about gluten in their products. Here is the exchange:

Me: I just discovered your Round Rock store today! I was wondering if you guys had a list of which items are gluten free? I checked your website and did not find anything.

Them: Hi Dan, we’re glad you found us! All of our items are gluten-free except our chocolate-covered pretzels. Thanks for your interest!

Groovy! That means I can have good chocolate candies anytime I want.

I can’t wait until they have their chocolate covered strawberries when they have them!

Here is a link to their Facebook page and to our exchange about gluten.

God has answered my prayers and put in the hearts of Mama Fu’s to make a great gluten free Chinese food Menu.

I had not eaten at Mama Fu’s since before going on my gluten free diet. I was going to meet a friend near the Mama Fu’s in Georgetown and decided to see if they had anything I could eat. Boy did they! It seems that they have taken nearly their entire menu and made a gluten free version of it. I guess they do this stating with a gluten free soy sauce base which I think is great.

Here is a list of some of the thing that they have on their gluten free menu:

• Appetizers
  • Edamame
  • Chicken Lettuce Wraps
  • Seared Ahi Tuna
• Kid Selections
  • Scooby “Fu”
  • Ninja Noodles
  • Mei Mei’s
• Rice Dishes
  • Sweet-n-Sour
  • Steam Bowl
    • Spicy General Fu
    • Teriyaki
    • Sesame
    • Thai Cashew Stir Fry
    • Fried Rice
    • Mongolian
    • Honey Glazed
    • Ginger Broccoli
    • Orange Peel
• Noodle Bowls
  • Lo Mein
  • Pad Thai
  • Thai Basil
  • Singapore Noodles
  • Thai Fu Noodles
• Seared Entrees
  • Seared Ahi Tuna Steak
• Sides
  • Fried Rice
  • Thai Green Beans
  • Edamame

That is a great menu and I can tell you that food is fresh and tastes great. I just wish they would put one in Round Rock so it is closer to my house!

Here is a link to their website where you can get their gluten free menu – Mama Fu’s Nutritional Info

I was a Pei Wei junky before I went gluten free and would eat their chicken teriyaki a couple times a week. I was broken hearted when I found out that regular soy sauce (the base for teriyaki sauce) has gluten in it. Unfortunately Pei Wei does not offer a gluten free teriyaki bowl. They do have a gluten free menu though with some good things on it – specifically the Spicy Chicken.

Here is what is on their gluten free menu:

• Edamame
• Vietnamese Chicken Salad Rolls
• Asian Chopped Chicken Salad
• Pei Wei Spicy Salad
  • Chicken or Shrimp
• Pei Wei Spicy
  • Chicken or Shrimp
• Sweet & Sour
  • Chicken or Shrimp

It is not a huge list but the food is good.

Here is a link to their website where you can download their nutritional PDF that has their gluten free menu. – Pei Wei Nutrition Info.

Before I went gluten free I used to eat at Taco Bueno all the time. I alway saw them as a Taco Bell but with good, fresh food.

Liking them as much as I did I went to their website to see if they had a gluten free menu – they didn’t – so I emails them and they responded. Here is the email thread:

from: comments <comments@tacobueno.com>

to: **************************

date: Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 10:48 AM

subject: FW: Feedback from tacobueno.com

Hello,

Sorry at this time we cannot recommend our menu as gluten-free as the same fryer is used for both the corn and the flour. A menu item that can be recommended is the Ultimate Gourmet Bowl (offered in limited markets), and black beans and white rice.

—–Original Message—–

From: TacoBueno.com Feedback [mailto:no-reply@tacobueno.com]

Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 9:54 AM

To: Taco.Bueno@encirclemarketing.com;

Subject: Feedback from tacobueno.com

Store Number:

Feedback Type: Other

Feedback Related To: Ingredients

Feedback:

I would like to know if you have any gluten free items on your menu.

Contact Type: Yes, by email

Name: Dan Masters

Phone Number: ************

from: comments <comments@tacobueno.com>to: **************************date: Mon, Oct 18, 2010 at 10:48 AMsubject: FW: Feedback from tacobueno.com
Hello,
Sorry at this time we cannot recommend our menu as gluten-free as the same fryer is used for both the corn and the flour. A menu item that can be recommended is the Ultimate Gourmet Bowl (offered in limited markets), and black beans and white rice.

—–Original Message—–From: TacoBueno.com Feedback [mailto:no-reply@tacobueno.com]Sent: Monday, October 18, 2010 9:54 AMTo: Taco.Bueno@encirclemarketing.com;Subject: Feedback from tacobueno.com

Store Number:
Feedback Type: Other
Feedback Related To: Ingredients
Feedback:
I would like to know if you have any gluten free items on your menu.

Contact Type: Yes, by email
Name: Dan Masters
Phone Number: ************

So as you can see unfortunately they have a very limited selection of items that would be gluten free. It would be nice if they would get a separate frier in the future that would eliminate cross contamination. I appreciate their quick response though!

The Five Guys Fries that I got to eat last week got me craving french fries even more so I set out to find where I can get some a little closer to Round Rock. After putting on my thinking cap I remember Might Fine Burgers and how they say that all their ingredients are fresh and natural. That had to mean their french fries are possibly gluten free right?

I checked out their website but there wasn’t any allergen information on it so I decided to give them a call.

A really nice guy answered and explained that their fries were indeed gluten free because they were fresh cut potatoes fried in peanut oil and lightly salted with sea salt. He also explained that their hamburger was gluten free and even looked up the info on the seasoning that they used on the hamburger – it was gluten free as well. He also let me know that their chili was gluten while he was at it (see below on chili). In fact everything is gluten free except for the buns and the chili that they use. He told me to just let someone know of my allergy when ordering and they will be careful about contamiation.

I went that day to Mighty Fine and got Fries and a bun-less chopped chili cheese dog. While ordering I told them of my gluten allergy and the girl wrote it on my order bag and circled it – cool!

Anyway I was happy that their is a burger joint that is so close that I can good fresh gluten free fries. I will try a convertible bacon cheeseburger sometime here in the future.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Allison from Mighty Fine Burgers was nice and enough to comment below that upon further research that the chili IS NOT gluten free due to the spices that they use in it. Allison also verified that all the shakes the make all use gluten free vanilla ice cream and syrups.  It is great to see Mighty Fine read little guy websites like mine and taking the time to research and comment on them. Thanks Allison! Here is a post on the Might Fine blog confirming the information above – Gluten Free at Mighty Fine.

Personal Note: I am asymptomatic in regard to celiac disease so eating the chili did not do anything to me. I probably could eat all the glutenI want but I know it is not good for me. That is why I do my best to not eat any gluten because I know from time-to-time I may accidentally  eat some.

I was up in Temple this past week and before I went gluten free I would always stop at the Five Guys Burgers up there as they have great burgers and fries. Now I know that I couldn’t have a full blown hamburger from there because of the bun but I thought maybe it is possible that their fries are gluten free. I jumped on the internet to find out.

Sure enough the fries at Five Guys are gluten free as they are freshly sliced potatoes that are fried in peanut oil and then lightly salted.

In my research I also found out that their beef is gluten free as well so you could actually have a convertible hamburger if you wanted without the bun. My capacity to eat isn’t back to where it usually was so I just opted for the fries as they give you a lot anyway. They were delicious and hit the spot.

I will definitely be visiting Five Guys again when I am down in the Arboretum are in Austin.

Here is a link to their website where they address gluten (only their buns have it) – Five Guys FAQ’s

After calling Taco Cabana they were nice enough to email me their PDF on all of their gluten free items. To sum it up just about everything is gluten free except the things that have flour tortillas.

Below is a pic of my lunch of taquitos (they call them flautas) and chips with queso. Yummy!

Here is the PDF that they sent me – Taco Cabana gluten free